Questions on Chapter 11.

than example; so that, if bad example cannot account for the proneness to evil in men, much less can education. Who taught the first murderer his lessons in the crime of shedding his brother’s blood? Which of the prevalent vices of mankind had its origin in imparted instruction? What crime is it that can only exist and prevail where special schools are established for its culture? The influence of education, it must be admitted, is very great; but the difficulty to be accounted for is this: Why is it that man is so ready in the school of vice, and so dull in the school of virtue? Deny the doctrine of our native corruption, and why might we not, with far more reason, expect that education should produce general virtue than general vice? Thus have we seen that experience and observation only confirm the Scripture doctrine of the native and total depravity of man. QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 11.

QUESTION 1. What is the Pelagian and Socinian notion of depravity?

2. What other erroneous opinion has obtained on the subject?

3. What is the true doctrine upon this subject?

4. Is man by nature totally depraved?

5. What distorted view of this doctrine have its opponents generally presented?

6. Does total depravity imply depravity in every possible sense, and to the greatest possible extent?

7. In what respects may depravity be understood to be total?

8. Wherein appears the absurdity of representing total depravity as implying depravity in every possible sense and degree?

9. What two positions, already established, form the basis of the first argument?

10. How does it appear that Adam was the natural head and representative of his posterity?

11. Do his posterity stand chargeable with the personal obliquity of his offense?

12. In what two senses is sin taken, according to Dr. Watts?

13. How does it appear that our relation to Adam, our guilt, and our subjection to the penalty of the law, are inseparably connected?

14. In what way do these facts prove our native and total depravity?

15. What passages are brought from the Old Testament to prove this doctrine?

16. From the New Testament?

17. Do experience and observation confirm this doctrine?

18. What five obvious facts are here appealed to?

19. How have Pelagians and Socinians endeavored to account for these facts?

20. How does it appear that they only shift, without solving the difficulty?

21. If men were naturally holy, what kind of example might we reasonably expect to be most prevalent? If the moral character of man were naturally indifferent to good and evil, what might we expect to be the state of actual character?

22. How does it appear that education cannot account for these facts? Admitting the influence of education to be ever so great, what would be the great difficulty still remaining?